


Smoking Drabble

by stylesoftheshire



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: Drabble, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-02-13
Updated: 2013-02-13
Packaged: 2017-11-29 03:24:01
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 390
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/682166
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/stylesoftheshire/pseuds/stylesoftheshire





	Smoking Drabble

‘It’ll kill you one day, you know.’

Zayn looks up, still holding the cigarette limply between his fingers. 

Liam is watching him seriously, just like always.

‘How do you know I’m not invincible?’ he asks, trying to make his voice light and joking, but the concern etched into Liam’s face makes him falter.

‘No one’s invincible,’ Liam replies, and there’s something sad in his voice that Zayn wants to pull out and throw into a dark corner.

He doesn’t say anything in return. Instead, he reflexively moves the cigarette to his lips, slotting it in place like it’s meant to be there. He doesn’t take his eyes off of Liam though, doesn’t miss the way his shoulders sag like he’s tired. Zayn’s tired too.

The lighter is lying on the table between them, just out of Zayn’s reach and right by where Liam’s hand is dangling.

Liam glances down at it and then back up again so their eyes meet in that kind of punch-in-the-gut way that they both ignore every time. 

Zayn can see his silent question, soft and incredulous, as he touches the lighter with his fingertip like he’s as scared of it as he is of Zayn’s habit.

They’re both still for one age-long minute before Liam shakes his head minutely and resignedly.

Zayn watches in some kind of twisted awe as Liam’s sturdy fingers wrap around the lighter, as it’s held out to him.

Liam’s eyes are begging him to reject the offer, but Zayn can’t refuse anything Liam gives to him.

He lets his fingertips graze against Liam’s hand when he takes it and knows that he feels it too. He knows that they’ve both always felt it, but they’ve also always pretended it wasn’t there just because they were scared they’d be starting something they couldn’t finish.

Zayn lights the end of the cigarette carefully, his fingerprints overlaying Liam’s on the plastic.

He inhales and it burns like always, but he welcomes it as his eyes lock with Liam’s. 

Liam, who can only stand helpless and guilty like everything is his fault, not even flinching when the haze is blown out, skimming his skin. 

It only makes sense that he handed him the lighter, Zayn thinks.

The smoke curls in his lungs just like Liam curls around his heart.

It’ll kill him one day.


End file.
